What Is a LIS?
Laboratory Information System Guide for Clinical Labs
Everything clinical labs need to know about LIS: features, integration, compliance, and choosing the right system.
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The Quick Definition
- LIS
- A Laboratory Information System (LIS) is specialized software designed for clinical and diagnostic laboratories. It manages patient information, test orders, specimen processing, result reporting, and communication with healthcare providers.
The key distinction: A LIS is patient-centric. While other lab software might focus on samples, experiments, or research data, a LIS revolves around the patient journey through the laboratory.
Why Clinical Labs Need Specialized Software
Patient Safety
When a clinical lab misidentifies a sample, the consequences can be life-threatening.
Speed is Critical
Doctors make treatment decisions based on lab results. Turnaround time directly impacts patient care.
Regulatory Requirements
CLIA, CAP, state regulations, HIPAA—clinical labs operate under layers of compliance requirements.
Integration Demands
Clinical labs must communicate with EMRs, hospital systems, physician practices, and billing systems.
What a LIS Actually Does
Test Ordering & Accessioning
Electronic orders from EMRs, order validation, specimen requirements, and unique identifier assignment.
Patient Demographics
Patient information across encounters, testing history, critical value alerts, and allergies.
Specimen Tracking
Location tracking, status updates, chain of custody, and stability monitoring.
Result Management
Automated result entry, range checking, critical values, auto-verification, and manual review.
Results Delivery
EMR integration, patient portals, printed reports, fax/secure messaging, and critical value notification.
Billing Integration
Charge capture, coding accuracy, insurance verification, claim preparation, and denial management.
LIS vs. LIMS: What's the Real Difference?
LIS (Laboratory Information System)
- Patient-centric
- Designed for clinical/diagnostic labs
- Manages ordering, results, billing
- Healthcare integration (HL7/FHIR) central
LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System)
- Sample-centric
- Designed for broader lab types
- Focuses on sample tracking and workflows
- May or may not have healthcare integration
In practice, the lines blur. Some vendors call their clinical products LIMS. Focus on functionality, not labels.
Integration: The Technical Side
EMR Integration
The EMR is where physicians work. Orders originate there. Results need to return there. HL7 messaging and FHIR APIs enable bidirectional communication.
Instrument Interfaces
Modern analyzers produce digital results. A LIS sends worklists, receives results, matches to patients, and handles exceptions.
Billing Systems
Revenue cycle management requires accurate, timely data. Charge, patient, and coding information flows to billing platforms.
Public Health Systems
Reportable disease results must reach public health authorities. Electronic Laboratory Reporting (ELR) is increasingly mandated.
Deployment Options
On-Premise
Full control, data stays local, no internet dependency. Higher upfront costs, you manage infrastructure.
Cloud
Lower entry costs, vendor handles infrastructure, automatic updates. Ongoing subscription costs, internet dependency.
Hybrid
Core system on-premise, some components in cloud. Flexibility to keep sensitive data local.
Clinical labs are moving toward cloud more slowly than other industries due to data sensitivity, regulatory requirements, and integration complexity.